It's been quite a life experience here in India and I didn't really know what to expect!
So the newspaper in Delhi - a female politician - nice name and don't need to say much else:)
This is a decorated corpse waiting to be cremated on the Ganges River bank.
These pictures don't seem to be in order but this is on our walk in Agra today and yes the cow did join us but we did not dine with the cow! We did have to watch where we walked at all times and I know that cows are sacred but I do not want cow dung packed in my suitcase!!!
I did not try to make personal contact with a Rhesus monkey and they are all over the place even hanging on columns in our hotel grounds.
Our guide in Varanasi told us not to hold out our hand to an Indian cobra that we saw on the streets with snake charmers. Ross hates snakes and I can't say I like them either so it wasn't a problem for us!
Walking out of our hotel property - surely not like the rest of what we have seen and we are spoiled here and at home for sure.
The "common area" outside our room.
Entering the gate into Taj Mahal and yes this is what we see every day but I think these are the fairly well-to-do Indians and the older women travel in packs and the men with men but I noticed the younger generation men, women and kids are all together. Our guide says "it's a new world".
View of the Taj Mahal late afternoon and it almost didn't look real and it was our first sight of it out of our hotel room window.
Another hospital in Agra India and I do not want to be admitted to get sick here. We have a person on the tour who is running a fever and is sick and missing stuff and travelling with 3 other friends and another 2 got sick. She has seen a hotel doctor twice now in two different cities and this one today said if she's not better in a week she should get bloodwork done. Ugh... we still have a couple weeks left so knock on wood the rest of the group stay ok.
Yup - same all over the world - men peeing and here it's everywhere even on main streets.
View of the Taj Mahal from the Agra Fort which is still an Indian Army fort and certainly well protected. and when there is a monsoon it is all flooded by many feet. It would be interesting but I'm happy with our beautiful weather. The Fort is where the maharajah or somebody Jahan was imprisoned there for 14 years when he wanted to build the second Taj. He was arrested, imprisoned and died in the Fort.
It is definitely another beautiful place here in Agra, India
I wasn't sure if the toilets were around the corner or if this block was meant to pee on. Regardless I did not participate.
Wanna buy a tire, a coke or a t-shirt??? It's all here in the typical Indian street mall.
Since the President of Argentina was visiting The Taj Mahal this morning it was closed to the public but when we got there later in the morning the Argentinian "crew" travelling with him was still there. All women and they asked us where they were from.
I think I have 55 pictures of the Taj Mahal
I just loves signs and toilets in different countries. Am I wierd?
I have never ever had a hotel room like this - holy moly!!!
This is one of the tomb buildings on the grounds of the Taj Mahal.
And another view of the traffic. There's a couple here from Southern California and they said "it's worse than LA" so that tells you something.
Since Ross was an electrical engineer he is very interested in the wiring; however, when I look at it it just makes me a little nervous about sparks and stuff like that!
Back to Varanasi on the Ganges. They have soup lines 3 times a day out on the streets where people sit and the mission is to feed the poor. It is so sad and we have not seen either middle class or upper class housing yet and we are into Day 5. I'm sure those areas are not in for tourists scoping it out.
Cow patties aka cow piles aka cow dung - whatever you call it apparently here it is dried then sold for people to build fires and they say it doesn't smell. I don't think I'll be using those in our woodstove at home .....but maybe we can buy cow patties on Amazon - who knows in this day and age?
This is a corpse waiting to be cremated and a few of the ashes dropped into the Ganges and maybe some of the rest the Himalayan Hindu monks will be using it to rub their bodies - for real, it's what they use.
And a monk getting ready for a bath in the Ganges.
Laundry day - and yes this is where the laundry is really done and these are laundry maids or people who get paid to do laundry for others.
And the sunrise over the Ganges on our early morning boat ride - so awesome.
Men's bathing area and nobody seems to stare at them but I did.
A typical barber shop and our guide told us this was the deluxe visit and if you wanted to get a haircut for less you would sit on the ground. A chair costs more I guess!
Sun over the Ganges.
Another Himalayan Hindu monk all filled with crematory ashes and some other white stuff.
And a body being cremated and there were a lot happening every day and lots of music and entertainment along with it. Apparently people from all over the world come here to be cremated.
This lady is making toothbrushes out of a certain kind of wood twigs. All you do is chew on the end until it gets bristly and then brush your teeth in the Ganges River water.
More of the monks and yes they are naked all over and they come down from the Himalaya Mountains to get warm for a couple months in the winter as they do have snow up there.
A "castle" along the Ganges.
And our sweet young boy who drove our boat:
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